The Penan Lifestyle

• Prize
  Bronze in Editorial/Photo Essay
• Photographer
  Virginie Nguyen Hoang
• Agency / Studio
  Hans Lucas / Collectif Huma
• Technical Info
  Fujifilm Xt3
• Photo Date
  December 2019 / February 2020

There are around 10,000 Penan seen in Malaysia, more precisely in Sarawak (Borneo). Originally, the Penan were indigenous nomads living in the rainforest. They live on hunting, fishing and harvesting. Celina and Guman are parents of 6 children. They are one of the last Penan family in the region to settle down. Since the deforestation caused by the wood and the oil palm industries, the Penan have faced a loss of their territory and way of life linked to the rainforest. Despite their settlement, many Penan, like the Guman family, continue to struggle to live from the resources of the rainforest

Born in Belgium in 1987, Virginie Nguyen Hoang studied journalism. In 2012, she joined the Studio Hanslucas and became the co-founder of the Collectif HUMA. From January 2012 to August 2014, she settled in Egypt as a freelancer but also as a staff photojournalist for local newspapers. Since the beginning of her career, Virginie carried out several stories in Belgium,Syria, Egypt, Irak,Turkey, Libya, Ukraine, Vietnam, the Philippines,Gaza, Afghanistan, Israël, India, Central African Republic and recently in Malaysia (Borneo).